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Los Chinos de Ponce

King's Cream
"Los Chinos de Ponce"
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1964; 60 years ago (1964)
FounderAlfredo Louk and Violeta Chang de Louk
HeadquartersPonce, Puerto Rico
ProductsIce cream
Number of employees
approx 6

Los Chinos de Ponce (English: "The Chinesemen of Ponce"), formally King's Cream, is an Ice cream parlor located at Calle Marina 9322 in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in front of the town square, Plaza Degetau, opposite the historic Parque de Bombas. Critics have called the site "a Puerto Rican institution" and its ice cream "the Caribbean's best."[1][2][3] It has also been called "Puerto Rico's most famous ice cream stand."[4] Another critic called it "[the reason] for which I'll always remember Ponce."[5]

History

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The unassuming King's Cream ice cream parlor, better known as 'Los Chinos de Ponce', across Plaza Degetau on Calle Marina

Their owners/founders were Alfredo Louk, originally from Guangzhou, China (Canton in Spanish), and his wife Violeta Chang de Louk, a Cuban woman of Chinese immigrant parents. The couple had fled the Fidel Castro government and established themselves in Ponce in 1963.[6]

They opened the first King's Cream store in 1964.[7][8] It was located at 61 Calle Vives, between Calle Union and Calle Atocha.[9] A second outlet of the same company opened three blocks away across Plaza Las Delicias on Calle Marina a few years later.[10]

Offering

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The store has an array of local flavors,[11] including pineapple, parcha (passion fruit), coconut, guanabana (soursop), tamarind, acerola, peanut, maize, and almond[12][13][14] in addition to the traditional vanilla and chocolate flavors.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Editor's Picks: Offbeat San Juan:Day-Tripping. Cruise Critic: Cruise Reviews and News. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. ^ Escapes under $500: Go to Puerto Rico's second city. USA Today. 2 March 2007. Anne Banas. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  3. ^ Puerto Rico's second city becomes a hot ticket: Ponce, anchored by a whimsical firehouse, is turning itself into an architectural tour de force. Mike Clary. LA Times. 13 December 1993. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. ^ South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Puerto Rican Ramblings. Carolyn Spencer Brown. Puerto Rico Herald. 14 April 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  5. ^ The New York Sun: Puerto Rico For The Weekend. Laura Siciliano. Puerto Rico Herald. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  6. ^ Jose Lee-Borges. Los Chinos en Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Callejon. 2015. Pages 23 and 24.
  7. ^ Barrio Sabanetas, Plaza las Delicias, Parque de Bombas and Helados Chinos. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  8. ^ Walking Tours: Ponce. Froomer's. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  9. ^ Jose Lee-Borges. Los Chinos en Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Callejon. 2015. Pages 23 and 24.
  10. ^ Restaurants in Southern & Western Puerto Rico: King's Cream. Archived 2013-01-07 at the Wayback Machine Lonely Planet. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  11. ^ Let's Go to Ponce. Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  12. ^ Travel: Discovering Ponce, Puerto Rico: A culinary highlight was 'mamposteao,' a simple rice and bean side dish. Jonny and Amy Seponara-Sills. 22 May 2012. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  13. ^ Ponce recalls 19th century colonialism in Puerto Rico. Suzanne Van Atten. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Oct. 20, 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  14. ^ Desfilan en masa para honrar a Ponce . Sandra Torres Guzmán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 31. Issue 1556. 25 September 2013. Page 24. Retrieved 25 September 2013.

Further reading

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18°0′41.76″N 66°36′48.49″W / 18.0116000°N 66.6134694°W / 18.0116000; -66.6134694